A FAMILY with a mouse in their house have missed out on getting it removed for free by a whisker é because they have the wrong kind of rodent.

Postman Stephen Peover, 46, was shocked to discover the miniature intruder in their home, especially since his partner Julie Browne, 43, is terrified of mice.

However, the couple were even more astonished when the council said they would have to pay to have it removed from their three-bedroom council house on Lanark Walk, Upton Priory, although they would pick up the tab if the pest was A RAT!

Stephen said: éThe mouse was first spotted by Julieés son Craig in his bedroom a couple of weeks ago.

éJulie then saw it last week in the living room and she was absolutely petrified.

éWhen I phoned the council to say we had a mouse and wanted to have it removed I was told they would charge for mice but not for rats.é

The couple were told it would cost them é35.25 to have the mouse dealt with and that somebody would get back to them within five days to make an appointment.

"Iéve lived in this house for 13 years and weéve never had this problem before.

éItés especially worrying as Iém terrified of mice and we also have a two-year-old daughter, Emily, who we have to keep an eye on.é

Emma Alexander, Environment Director at Macclesfield Borough Council, said: éIt is the council policy to charge for the removal of mice and not rats.

éThe reason for that is that rats are known to present a public health issue whereas mice arenét.

éIn environmental health terms rats are known to support diseases and therefore we deemed it inappropriate to introduce a charge because we donét want to deter people with rats from coming forward.

éBecause mice donét present a public health hazard we have a policy of charging.é

As well as rats, people with cockroach infestations will avoid a bill as they are also thought to pose an environmental health hazard.

In response to the familyés complaint about the amount of time they were told they would have to wait to hear a response from the council, Mrs Alexander said there was a standard response time of five days é but it all depended on demand.

éIn this case as soon as the charges were clarified the caller decided that they didnét want to continue but had they wanted to proceed we would probably have got someone to them the next working day given the current work load.é

However, Stephen and Julie have now decided to take matters into their own hands.

Stephen said: éIn the end we just thought, blow it, itéll be cheaper and quicker to buy our own mouse traps.é